Prize winner - 2026
The Children of the Earth Foundation awards this year's prize to Gullingsrud Children Center for their long-term and exceptional work for children in Tanzania.
The prize is awarded annually to a project that helps improve children's living conditions, quality of life, and health. Gullingsrud Children Center receives the award for its commitment to some of the most vulnerable children—and for providing them with access to care, safety, and education.
This recognition means an a lot to us and to the children we work for every single day. It provides both motivation and the opportunity to continue our work of giving children a safe upbringing and a future to believe in, says Birthe S. Gullingsrud, contact person for Gullingsrud Children Center.
She points out that the work is about more than aid. "It is about giving children stability, a sense of belonging, and the opportunity to create an independent life for themselves. The award from Children of the Earth gives us the capacity to further strengthen this work.
The Children of the Earth Prize is awarded at Nordkapp and the prize winners receive a prize money of 200,000 Norwegian kroner as well as the iconic Children of the Earth statuette. Since its establishment, the foundation has worked to highlight projects that makes difference in childrens life internationally. Chairman of the Children of the Earth Foundation, Elin Ekrol, believes this year's winner represents exactly that.
Gullingsrud Children Center is making a truly vital contribution for children living under very challenging conditions. They combine a long-term perspective with strong local roots and provide children with real opportunities for development and a better life," says Elin Ekrol, HR Director at Scandic and Chairman of the Children of the Earth Foundation.
This is exactly the type of effort we want to highlight—where the long-term commitment of individuals creates lasting change for children who need it the most.
The award is presented during a ceremony at Nordkapphallen, where the Children of the Earth statuette is also handed over. In the "Cave of Lights," the award winners gather together with the mayor, teachers from Honningsvåg School, and around 250 schoolchildren from Magerøya. The award winners will also take part in school visits in Honningsvåg and a ceremony at the Children of the Earth reliefs at Nordkapp. There will also be cultural performances by the North Cape School of Culture.
Prize winner - 2025
Helping Hands receives Barn av Jorden Award. With two Norwegians the voluntary organization helps children and youth with schooling in Tanzania. Now, its efforts are being rewarded with the Barn av Jorden Award and a financial contribution of NOK 150,000.
Barn av Jorden is a charitable foundation run by Scandic and Rica Eiendom. Each year, a prize is awarded to a project that promotes children's upbringing, quality of life and health.
The award ceremony takes place at Nordkapp, where Scandic operates three hotels and the Nordkapphallen experience center. In this year's assessment, the voluntary organization Helping Hands stood out. The organization was founded in January 2016 and has since worked tirelessly to give disadvantaged children access to education, but the key was to provide a support system and facilitate the children for better life.
The founders of Helping Hands are Daniélla Rodrigues and Yvonne Helland. The idea behind the foundation arose after Rodrigues worked voluntarily at an orphanage in Tanzania. When they were both 20 years old and students, they decided to start an organization. Today, Helping Hands sponsors almost 150 children and runs a number of welfare projects in the country.
– This year's award winner has done incredibly important work for children, youth, families and people in acute and difficult life situations in Tanzania for a number of years. Through their daily work, they make a big difference in the lives of many people, and I am sincerely impressed by everything they have achieved. Helping Hands is a worthy winner of this year's Barn av Jorden award, says Chairwoman Elin Ekrol, who is also HR Director at Scandic Hotels Norway.
Education as the key to a better life
For Helping Hands, education is about more than just schooling. It is about giving children and young people the necessary tools to manage themselves, face adulthood and contribute positively to society. This long-term approach characterizes all projects – whether it concerns schools, healthcare, family planning or other measures that help children and families to become independent.
One of the most difficult things we do is to have to say no to children who want to go to school. Right now, there are many who are waiting to start, and the needs are increasing. The award gives us an important boost and an opportunity to strengthen our work – both in the short and long term, say Daniélla Rodrigue and Yvonne Helland on behalf of Helping Hands.
100 percent of the funds collected go directly to the projects in Tanzania. The work is led by Gladness Andrew Massawe, who is described as the heart of the organization. She leads the employees, has extensive knowledge of the local environment and finds the families in need and give them guidance and support. In connection with the award ceremony, project manager Gladness Andrew Massawe and doctor Petro "Peter" Tamilwai Bendera will come to Norway, together with two of the children who receive support from Helping Hands: Happyness William Limo (12) and Lilian Issa Mssoffe (10).
Ceremony at Nordkapp
The prize will be awarded at a ceremony at Nordkapp on June 18, where the Children of the Earth statuette will also be presented. Around 250 students from all over Magerøya will be present at the award ceremony. The prize money is equivalent to schooling for 120 children for one year, or for 17 children throughout the entire seven-year schooling period.
.Prize winner - 2024
The Children of the Earth foundation awards a prize each year to a project that promotes children's upbringing, quality of life and health. This year, the prize of NOK 150,000 goes to the organization human:kind [be both].
The organization was established in 2020 by Werner Heum and Sveinung Berntsen, and helps children in Romania with food, clothing, hygiene and schooling. The idea to establish a charity was conceived after a visit to a children's center in the Romanian town of Chiselet in 2017. The poverty among children and families made a strong impression, leaving a desire to help. Three years later, the organization human:kind [be both] was established, and now they contribute funds both to the children's center and to other humanitarian projects in Romania.
They receive the prize of NOK 150,000 and the Child of the Earth statuette in a ceremony at Nordkapp on 5 June. - It is a great pleasure to announce that this year's award goes to human:kind [be both]. This is an organization that has already managed to make a big difference for poor children and families with children in Romania with its work. With the prize money and the positive attention they are now receiving, we hope they will have the opportunity to help far more people, says chairman Elin Ekrol in Children of the Earth.
Ekrol is also HR director at Scandic Norge, and it is precisely Scandic Norge and Rica Eiendom that jointly run the Children of the Earth Foundation. The prize has been awarded for a number of years, and on the occasion of the awarding ceremony on the Nordkap Plateau on 5 June, two children and two managers from the children's center will also have travel and accommodation on the Nordkapp covered to participate in the ceremony and meet school children of the same age at Magerøya and the Nordkapp.
100 percent of the funds collected go directly to help poor children and their families. They pay fees and other expenses themselves. The organization aims to make the path as short as possible from the donors to those who receive help, and is concerned with full insight and transparency in the development of the aid work. - Our aim is to help the children in Chiselet to complete their schooling, which is their only way out of poverty.
The prize money from Children of the Earth will be of enormous help in facilitating this, says Sveinung Berntsen, head of human:kind [be both]. Around 280,000 people visit the North Cape annually. In addition to the spectacular nature experiences, visitors can view seven bronze reliefs that are placed outside the Nordkapphallen. These works of art are a starting point for the Children of the Earth project, and refer to the seven children from Tanzania, Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Italy, the USA and the then Soviet Union who met at the North Cape in 1988 and were called precisely "Children of the Earth".
Prize winner - 2023
This year's Children of the Earth prize is awarded to Live Åtte
Since 2013, the foundation has worked to improve the living conditions for children and young people with developmental disabilities.
The prize money of NOK 150,000 and the Child of the Earth statuette will be awarded during a ceremony at Nordkapp on 6th September. The prize is awarded annually, and is given to a person or a project that over time has shown care and ability to help children in need somewhere in the world. Anyone can nominate candidates for the award.
The Live Åtte foundation started with the a little girl named Live who died on her eighth birthday on 24th March 2006. She had a brain injury that gave her major challenges in life and in the last years of her life she was associated with the Doman Institute in Philadelphia. Here she achieved goals that many thought were impossible for her.
The values, humanity and courage with which they were met also became the foundation for the organization. It was to continue the commitment and use the acquired expertise for the benefit of others.
- Live Åtte is an organization that helps a very vulnerable group of children in Nepal. With their help, these children have not only been given a place to be and belong, but also the opportunity for development and a meaningful everyday life. We cheer for Live Åtte's work and look forward to following their work further, says chairman of Barn av Jorden, Elin Ekrol.
The prize money is earmarked for the foundation's work for people with developmental disabilities in Nepal, which is run by Eli Skaatun. Barn av Jorden is an independent foundation established on the North Cape by writer and journalist Simon Flem Devold.
A formal presentation of the Children of the Earth statuette to the 2020 award winner
There has been some delay after the pandemic but an opportunity finally presented itself on March 20th to honor the 2020 award winners. Siv Mika Engebretsen fra Amigitos, was at the at the dinner and the formal presentation of the Children of the Earth statuette in Oslo. Christian Ingebrigtsen was a surprise guest who performed the songs "Det jeg har gitt fra meg" and "Spor," both of which were written for the many worthy award winners Children of the Earth have chosen over the years.
Prize winner -2022
